U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

is a north–south highway that is known as the Coastal Highway in the southeastern half of the state and the Ocean Highway in other areas. The route enters the state from

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

near

Calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

, and leaves in the vicinity of the

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1974 to help protect and preserve a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Between the US 64 freeway and the Virginia state line, US 17 is a four-lane divided highway with speed limits varying between and .

Route description

US 17 enters Brunswick County in Carolina Shores amid a variety of golf course communities. Carolina Shores was part of Calabash until 1998. In Wilmington, US 17 (here concurrent with US 76 and US 421) crosses the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

between New Hanover County and Brunswick County over the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. US 17 then travels east through the city of Wilmington with US 76 on Wooster/Dawson Streets and Oleander Drive, intersecting US 117, NC 132 and US 74. At the end of the US 76 concurrency near Wrightsville Beach, US 17 travels north as Military Cutoff Road before meeting up with Market Street and US 17 Business and exiting the city northeast. North of Holly Ridge US 17 begins to move further away from the Atlantic Coast. Then, it bypasses Jacksonville along with NC 24. Between

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

and James City, US 17 (concurrent with US 70 and NC 55) crosses the Trent River by way of the Freedom Memorial Bridge. Farther east, between James City and Bridgeton, US 17, still concurrent with NC 55, crosses the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in ...

over the Neuse River Bridge. Traffic going north on US 17 when using US 70's concurrency can bypass New Bern altogether via NC 43, ironically both the west end of US 17's concurrency on US 70 and NC 43's southern terminus both, respectively have a north and south protrusion of

unused highway An unused highway is a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed, but went unused or was later closed. An unused roadway or ramp may often be referred to as an abandoned road, ghost road, highway to nowhere, stub ramp, g ...

since full cloverleaf junctions were scrapped in the area. US 17 bypasses

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and it crosses the

Pamlico River The Pamlico
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

over the Pamlico-Tar River Bridge shortly before the route intersects with US 264. Farther along in

Bear Grass ''Xerophyllum tenax'' is a North American species of plants in the corn lily family. It is known by several common names, including bear grass, soap grass, quip-quip, and Indian basket grass. Ecology ''Xerophyllum tenax'' has flowers with si ...

, US 17 joins a concurrency with a limited-access portion of US 13/ US 64, although US 64 moves east before US 13/US 17 reaches Williamston, where the limited-access segment ends. US 13/US 17 uses the Roanoke River Bridge to cross the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Ap ...

, then before US 13 moves onto the interchange with North King Street it crosses the Cashie River Bridge over the

Cashie River This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of North Carolina. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries alphabetically indented under each larger stream's name. Atlantic Ocean * North Landing Rive ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. At the

Bertie County Bertie County ( , with both syllables stressed) is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Berti ...

- Chowan County line, US 17 traverses the

Chowan River The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN)
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Edenton. East of Edenton, US 17 shares a concurrency with NC 37 until they reach Hertford where it branches off to the northwest onto US 17 Business. US 17 crosses the

Perquimans River The Perquimans River is a coastal waterway in Northeastern North Carolina in the United States. Located entirely within Perquimans County, the river drains directly to the Albemarle Sound between Durant's Neck on the north and Harvey Neck on th ...

via the Perquimans River Bridge. Between

Perquimans County Perquimans County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Pasquotank County, US 17 crosses the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

over the Little River Bridge. A bypass route splits off to the northwest as US 17 (Mainline) continues into

Elizabeth City Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educ ...

as Hughes Boulevard, picking up concurrency with US 158 until US 158 splits off to the west at Morgan's Corner. US 17 crosses the

Pasquotank River The Pasquotank River
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Morgan's Corner in Pasquotank County and South Mills in Camden County, before entering Virginia adjacent to the

History

US 17 was established in 1927, traversing from

, near Fair Bluff, to

, near

South Mills South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. Its routing was placed along the following state highways: NC 202, from the South Carolina state line to Chadbourn; NC 20, from Chadbourn to Wilmington; NC 30, from Wilmington to

; NC 342, from Windsor to

; NC 34, from Elizabeth City to Morgans Corner; and NC 341, from Morgans Corner to the Virginia state line. In May 2015, AASHTO approved a request to reroute US 17 back through Wilmington, following US 76 along Oleander Drive and Military Cutoff Road. The justification for the route change was to better serve industry and commerce. In May 2017, US 17 was officially rerouted through Wilmington, ending its northern bypass route.

Interstate proposals

As a major north-south corridor through the coastal area, US 17 has been the target of various Interstate Highway proposals over the years. The earliest known proposal was in 1964, with a proposal supported by then-governor

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pr ...

, was to build a new Interstate from Fayetteville to Norfolk, Virginia, via US 13 and US 17. Designated Interstate 13 (I-13), it received support from various local officials; but was not supported by the North Carolina Highway Commission, which ended discussions. During the mid-1990s through mid-2000s, I-99 was proposed between Charleston, South Carolina and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, completely overlapping all of US 17 in North Carolina. In 2006, the

Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...

(VDOT) completed a study on the feasibility of the interstate and concluded with the high cost and disinterest of other states, notably

, that it was not feasible and recommend to not pursue further. In 2012, NCDOT backed and presented a letter to the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

(FHWA) requesting the establishment of a new high priority corridor between

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

and Norfolk, designated

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

(or I-50, with I-56 and

I-89 Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canadian border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all odd-numbered ...

as other possible numbers). This corridor follows US 64 and US 17, north of Williamston. The following year,

I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 95, listed from south to north: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virgin ...

was established east of Raleigh and was routed on part of this proposed route. In 2014, various supporters, including Governor Pat McCrory, Congressman G. K. Butterfield, NCDOT and the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA), have made cases and written letters to federal officials in support of the new interstate corridor. In 2016, AASHTO approved designation of

I-87 Interstate 87 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 87 (New York), a highway running from New York City north to the Canadian border in Champlain, New York. * Interstate 87 (North Carolina) ...

along US 17 between Williamston and the Virginia state line.

North Carolina Highway 341

North Carolina Highway 341 (NC 341) was an original state highway that traversed from NC 34, in Morgans Corner, to

. In 1923, it was extended north to the Virginia state line, meeting up with SR 40. In 1927, it was completely overlapped with US 17, which subsequently replaced it outright in 1934.

Future

In Chowan County, the existing freeway section of US 17, which bypasses Edenton, will be fully upgraded to modern interstate standards. At a cost of $13 million, it will mainly focus on widening travel lanes and building shoulders; construction is planned to start in 2025.

Junction list

Special routes

There are numerous existing and former

special route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the In ...

s of US 17 within the state of North Carolina.

References

External links